1 comments about Walking in Norway (Cicerone Guide).

1. "Walking in Norway" is a compact guide to long distance hiking in the mountains and high plateaus of Norway. Norway is blessed with some exceptionally beautiful national parks featuring mountains, lakes, and huge open areas above treeline. Connie Roos has provided planning information to take advantage of 20 selected routes located in the Hardanger, Jotunheimen, Rondane, Dovre, Trollheimen, and northern Norway regions. Her focus is on multi-day hikes, although hikers may choose to do only segments of the routes described. Her information includes a sketch map for each area, terrain profile, and narrative description of the distance and conditions of each major path segment. There is also a small selection of photographs that provide some sense of scale. Roos has provided some valuable information on how to reach the various hiking regions, whether by car, bus, or train, and on how the distinctive Norwegian mountain hut system works.
   
   Hikers should pay close attention to Roos' comments on clothing. The Norwegian mountain regions are subject to highly variable weather conditions. The isolation of many of these areas means hikers will be thrown on their resources in the event of bad weather.
   
   Hikers should also expect to invest in maps of the areas where they plan to hike. The sketch maps in the book are not sufficiently detailed for routefinding.
   
   This book is highly recommended to the dedicated hiker looking for opportunities in the still mostly wild interior of Norway.

3 comments about Spitsbergen: Svalbard, Franz Josef, Jan Mayen, 3rd: The Bradt Travel Guide.

1. This book is a great source for curious minded people who wonder about those hidden Islands within 500 miles of the North Pole!
   
   It is amazing to note that this island of Svalbard, most commonly noted as an obscure territory in the game "Risk," has such an astonishingly warm climate due to the same Mexican Gulf waters that fueled Hurricane Katrina! Its capital city is Longyearbyen and the highest temperature ever recorded here was 21.3 degrees Celsius, confirmed in this book and elsewhere. That's approximately 70 degrees farenheit and in proximity to the North Pole equal to that of Washington, DC in relation to Boston,Massachusetts. Interesting to note, eh?
   
   I think there's multiple purposes of using this book, whether planning to camp out in this warm haven in the far north or learning what's at the top of your sphere, purchase this now!



2. I purchased this book as a travel guide however it is more suited for those arm-chair readers. Having just returned from this region on an Artic cruise, many of the landings on my itinerary are not covered in this book. And many of the destinations in this book are rarely visited so I would not recommend this book as a travel guide to Svalbard. You will find more useful information on the search engines.
   The author devotes too many pages on technical information rather than as a practical guide. Other travelers on the cruise had the same comment about this book being impractical.



3. This fascinating Travel Guide was written by long-time Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen resident and tour operator Andreas Umbreit. The book covers the Svalbard archipelago, Jan Mayen Island, and the Russian-owned Franz Josef Land Islands, giving such important information as the geology and geography of the islands, the climate, wildlife and conservation, history, and practical information. The later covering such useful information as getting there, tours, health and safety, and so forth. As an added bonus, the book contains quite a few, breathtakingly beautiful color pictures from that Ultima Thule.
   
   Overall, I found this to be a fascinating book. The author gives a lot of information on the islands, focusing primarily on Spitsbergen. Indeed, even Longyearbyen city is discussed, giving such useful information as accommodations, getting around, shopping, eating, and so forth.
   
   Now, even with a place as small as Spitsbergen, it is quite likely that the author missed out on some locations. Or, perhaps, being a tour operator, he focused on those locations that he gives tours of, and knows best. But, that said, I think he did a very good job of covering a good deal of information on those islands. I really enjoyed this book, and don't hesitate to recommend it to anyone interested in those northern islands.

2 comments about Fodor's Norway, 8th Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. If you expect any pictures to give you a feel for the place, then don't buy this book. The picture on the cover is the only thing you'll get.
   Where I'm coming from: I don't travel to shop, eat, meet the locals or absorb new culture: I go to see beautiful man-made and natural wonders. An hour spent at a sidewalk cafe absorbing the "atmosphere" is an hour that could be spent seeing more of a castle, cathedral, museum, mountain, lake etc.
   Perhaps if you already know what you want to see, what's worth seeing in Norway, then the information in the book might be useful. But if you've never been to the place before, BUY THE EYEWITNESS SERIES books, they have pictures and 3D perspective drawings of specific neighborhoods give a nice feel for what one might want to see.



2. Fodor's latest tour guide to Norway is, like other editions in this series, heavy on facts for planning and light on wow factor. This edition, a compact 200 pages, provides plenty of information for planning a trip to Norway, especially for the traveler who has already made the decision to go.
   
   The guide provides a useful summary of Norway's many attractions, lots of information on traveling to and around Norway, and breakdowns by region of the principal attractions. Oslo gets lots of coverage as the major city, principal point of entry, and home of the best shopping and museum hopping. The guide also provides lots of information about the spectacular west coast of Norway, the fjord country, based on its status as a major tourist destination. Interior Norway gets rather less coverage but can be just as rewarding for the traveler looking for quiet forests and mountains. Each section typically includes suggestions for accomodations and dining. Each section also includes sketch maps that might be used as the basis of a tour itinerary.
   
   Norway has a somewhat limited road network, but compensates with excellent internal air and rail systems. Travelers may wish to consider these options in planning their movement around Norway, a surprisingly large country.
   
   Fodor's Norway does not have any photographs or other illustrations beyond maps; visitors seeking a sense of place and scale will have to consult elsewhere. The level of detail in such a compact guide is also limited. Travelers with particular interests such as hiking are advised to consult more detailed guides on Norway's trail and hut system.
   
   This guide is recommended to the traveler planning a first trip to Norway and needing lots of basic facts with which to plan.

3 comments about Norway Map by ITMB.

1. This is a very large map (~52 inches by 38 inches) and very detailed. It was more detail than I really wanted, and more importantly, it doesn't have an index that allows you to look up a town or city and find its approximate location on the map.



2. It arrived in a timely manner, however there was a hole in the center of the map that was not mentioned in its description that I was aware of.



3. We found the Norway Map by ITMB to be very detailed and accurate. The only downside in our view is that there is no list of cities and towns and where to find them on the map .

2 comments about Norway - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!).

1. Norway - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!) by Linda March provides a series of useful hints for those willing to get into the Norwegian culture. I have been dealing with Norwegian people for more than eight years and been to Norway twice so I can support many of the articles in the book. I don't remember finding any misconception at all, what is pretty rare when it comes to this kind of books. The only drawback are the pictures and illustrations, hence the 4-stars. Although it is not meant to be a photo album, maybe if the images were not monochrome, it would become more appealing to the reader. Minor flaw, though. All in all, I recommend it.



2. I love this book. It's written like someone talking to you. It's a great concept and I'm thinking of purchasing books from other countries.

5 comments about Frommer's Norway (Frommer's Complete).

1. If you expect any pictures to give you a feel for the place, then don't buy this book. The picture on the cover is the only thing you'll get.
   Where I'm coming from: I don't travel to shop, eat, meet the locals or absorb new culture: I go to see beautiful man-made and natural wonders. An hour spent at a sidewalk cafe absorbing the "atmosphere" is an hour that could be spent seeing more of a castle, cathedral, museum, mountain, lake etc.
   Perhaps if you already know what you want to see, what's worth seeing in Norway, then the information in the book might be useful. But if you've never been to the place before, BUY THE EYEWITNESS SERIES books, they have pictures and 3D perspective drawings of specific neighborhoods give a nice feel for what one might want to see.



2. This guide is great for reading ahead and taking along. This guide contains a fair amount of in depth information about the customs, practices, manners, etc. of the country and can be read while in the plane or a few days ahead. The guide also contains a lot of detail about what to do, where to go, and how much it costs to do if you are in certain cities for a day or a few days. I like the fact that they have current hotel and restaurant reviews as well as maps indicating where they are. This allows for being able to plan financially ahead as well. I have visited Norway several times and I have purchased updated Frommer's Guides every time because is well worth it. If you want pictures, this is not the book. If you want useful information in an easy to find format this is the book for you.



3. Frommer's certainly gives a great deal of very specific travel information. Lots of "Best Finds", &"Best Values". The guide provides great ideas on how to see specific cities, and attractions. I find that it works well in conjuncion with other travel guides that provide more visuals. In fact that is the only challenge with Frommers - limited pictures, and overall maps. But how many needs can one book meet? Frommers meets most of them.
   I would highly recommend this guide.



4. I like this and and the Rough guide best for Norway. They both have good maps and good information on a lot of the places you would like to visit and good info on the best tours. You do have to be careful that either a tour hasn't been cancelled or the time has changed since the book was written. We found that in Bergen. I thought both the Rough Guide Norway and Frommer's had much more specific info on tours and things to do than the Fodor's and Lonely Planet books do. I generally like Rick Steve's guides but his Scandinavia guide is not complete enough unless you are doing his intinerary. His book does have a lot on Oslo and Bergen. But, for example, it has nothing on Alesund (pronounced Oh-le-sund) which is a great coastal town to visit. And in general it has limited info on the coastal towns, which are pretty cool. Just as an aside, I really liked the Geiranger fjord. Lysefjord was neat with all its cliffs (and goats)but the Geiranger fjord is just beautiful and there are many excursions from the little town of Geiranger with fabulous views from above. Norway is a great place to visit. Most people speak English (though not all). In my mind it is still not quite as spectacular as Alaska but it is really beautiful. The views from the windy, hillside, hairpin-turn roads are breathtaking. Also, I found the views from a car or bus through the country better than the famous railroad from Flam to Myrdal. The views from the train were great but it moves so fast and you go through so many tunnels that it was hard to really appreciate the spectacular views.



5. My god this book was awful. This was my first (and last) purchase of a Frommer's guide. I initially bought it based solely on the fact that it was the most recently published guide for Norway among all of the available guides at the time. Much of the information was embarrasingly wrong. If you are a member of AARP, you may enjoy the suggestions in this book. The worst part was the maps. Would it kill them to put all the information such as hotels, restaurants, shopping and entertainment on the SAME map instead of making me jump back and forth between several maps? The separation of graphic information made it frustratingly difficult to plan out daily itineraries. This book found better use as toilet paper. I ended up tossing the Frommer's guide on day 2 of my trip and I purchased a Lonely Planet and Rough Guide, something I should've done from the get go.

2 comments about The Rough Guide to Norway 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. Most travel guides consist of lots of photographs taken on the best weather days, bumper sticker location descriptions, a few travel hints, and listings of high-end accomodations. The Rough Guide to Norway (2006 edition) aims at a somewhat more demanding audience, those readers who have already decided to visit Norway and want honest and substantive travel narrative, along with practical details about a range of accomodations and travel possibilities.
   
   This rough guide is densely packed with the kind of information one gets from the locals or experienced travelers. It favors maps, graphics, and written description over photographs, although a nice selection is included. The guide is oriented on the principal regions of Norway, counting Oslo as its own major attraction, with enough description to allow the visitor to make his or her own choices about what to see. A useful amount of historical background is provided without overwhelming the reader; Norway's Viking heritage plays prominently. The information about hiking and other outdoor activities is sufficient to permit advance planning while pointing the enthusiast in the right direction for more information. The discussion on accomodations includes the whole range of facilities, including hostels. The discussion on transportation should be followed closely; transportation means are limited in most of Norway and travel often requires linking bus, train, and ferry schedules.
   
   This guide is highly recommended to those planning a vacation in the wonderful country of Norway.



2. I like this and and the Frommer's guide best for Norway. They both have good maps and good information on a lot of the places you would like to visit and good info on the best tours. You do have to be careful that either a tour hasn't been cancelled or the time has changed since the book was written. We found that in Bergen. I thought both the Rough Guide Norway and Frommer's had much more specific info on tours and things to do than the Fodor's and Lonely Planet books do. And the Rough Guide has interesting insights, eg. how you might want take the Lysefjord cruise and bus tour if you have the time because you see it from within the fjord and above it. Also, I generally like Rick Steve's guides but his Scandinavia guide is not complete enough unless you are doing his intinerary. His book does have a lot on Oslo and Bergen. But, for example, it has nothing on Alesund (pronounced Oh-le-sund) which is a great coastal town to visit. And in general it has limited info on the coastal towns, which are pretty cool. Just as an aside, I really liked the Geiranger fjord. Lysefjord was neat with all its cliffs (and goats)but the Geiranger fjord is just beautiful and there are many excursions from the little town of Geiranger with fabulous views from above. Norway is a great place to visit. Most people speak English (though not all). In my mind it is still not quite as spectacular as Alaska but it is really beautiful. The views from the windy, hillside, hairpin-turn roads are breathtaking. Also, I found the views from a car or bus through the country better than the famous railroad from Flam to Myrdal. The views from the train were great but it moves so fast and you go through so many tunnels that I felt it was hard to really see the spectacular views.

5 comments about Norway (Country Guide).

1. Deanna Swaney (along with and Mark Griffith's outstanding mapping and design) have produced the definitive travel guide on Norway.

   Deanna Swaney's writing is both engaging and descriptive. In my "must have" list, to qualify a guide as "excellent", are easy to read maps. This book has the best maps found in any Norway travel guide. The superb information and recommendations are reliable and though the publication date is 1999 (thus the information is pre '99). Norway is a stable nation with very low inflation and the prices are close to the quotes.

   "Lonely Planet Norway" has a solid introduction section that covers Norway's history, government, economy, ecology, climate etc. This guide has an informative, practical, travel section and, most important, a reliable and up to date listing of recommendations that Swaney has checked out (lodging, restaurants, entertainment, places to see and things to do). At the start of each section is a regional map, more maps, and a list of highlights or "must see" for that region. Great!

   Deanna must not be a motorcycle afficionado for there is no mention in her book of motorcycle rental in Norway. I rented a Harley in Trondheim for a week of travel through the Western Fjords, Central Norway and the Trondelag region. Brilliant way to see this glorious country, but, beware the weather is more temperamental than a manic Chihuahua. It can and will go from warm to cold to wet back to sun in the space and distance of one hours travel. My motorcycle rental did include the all-purpose riding gear, I brought my own helmet.

   A weak area is the intermittent use of email/web site addresses. These are very helpful, especially for hotel quotes and reservations. I am sure this will be addressed when the next edition comes out.

   This is the best guide out on Norway, my second choice is Norway: The Rough Guide (see my review). If you are heading to Norway, get `Lonely Planet', you will be glad you did. Highly Recommended




2. I've been recently travelling all around Norway, from South to North, including the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. I found this guide generally very useful, but weak when it comes to talk about the Nordland, the Far North (Troms and the Finnmark) and Svalbard. For example, Lofoten is surely a fascinating place especially for hikers - like I suppose the author is - but many description are exhagerated and you might be disappointed once there - like I was. The Nordland is not sufficiently covered and the information sometimes might be poor in contents. Same about the Finnmark. The Svalbard part of the guide could be more exhaustive, altought I agree is a surely less touristic place than Bergen as a matter of fact is. There is space for improvements, but you cannot find anything better packed.



3. Norway's a deceptively large country with many, many small towns and interesting regions, all of which are separated by large distances. This book scratches the surface of all of them.

   I found the guide fairly weak for southwestern Norway (Stavanger & Bergen areas). While it did direct me to the more obvious tourist areas, I felt as if I had no idea about 90% of the other things I could do.

   In summary, because they try to cover the whole country in one book, the coverage of any one area tends to be superficial.




4. After traveling in Norway for two weeks and staying at more than 5 cities, I have to say this is the worst Lonely Plannet I've ever had. Many unforgiveable mistakes. For instance, the opening date and hour of National Gallery, one of Oslo's major highlights, is wrong. It is close on Monday instead of Tuesday. I met a number of people holding this book standing outside National Gallery on Monday, and, unfortunatly, my wife and I were two of them. Other mistakes includes the business hour of some restaurants and background information of certain cities. For instance, the population of Voss is 13,000 instead of 5,500 (p.189)....



5. 
   I'm still patiently waiting for a good Norway Tour Guide to be written. The Eyewitness Book is terrible. But out of a bad lot, perhaps the only one worth mentioning as worthy of taking along in a backpack is the Lonely Planet Norway.
   
   This book isn't great; maybe it isn't even very good, but at least it does spend some effort to describe many of the amazing sites Norway has to offer. It's still quite hard for me to imagine why this great country hasn't been covered by a good book.
   
   I for one borrowed the following books for my latest trip: Kon Tiki, The Moon is Down, A Collection of Plays by Ibsen, a Munch book, and the Lonely Planet Guide. I left the Eyewitness at home.

4 comments about Insight Guide Norway (Insight Guides Norway).

1. I have just returned from my second trip to Norway. My husband and I travelled there last year for almost 3 weeks. I had purchased your book over 3 years ago, as I knew that we would be travelling there in the upcoming future. We have friends that live in Nesoddtangen, its mentioned in your book, they do not get many American visitors there its a very beautiful area to visit. Its a 20 minute ferry boat ride from the Aker Brugger. I just returned from a 2 week visit to Nesodden again. This time my friend and I travelled to Lardner, building the longest tunnel in the world, stayed two days, but on the trip over, visited the Stave Church, over 1000 years old. Left to Bergen on a 3 1/2 ferry boat ride on the Sonjefjord, the longest and deepest of the fjords. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. We then travelled by car to Bergen and stayed for 3 days, what a charming city. What I love about your books, I have Iceland also, is they are so informative and when I visit a town or area that I have read about, I feel so informed about geography, politics, weather, etc. Keep up the good work. I was in Iceland three days before travelling to Norway, and your books are right on the mark. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!! LOVE YOUR BOOKS!!!



2. I bought this book as a gift for my Host Family in Minnesota, USA , when I went there as a foreign exchange student. The book is good, and tells a lot about Norway, but for a book being marked as printed in 2000, the pictures are really old. I would say some of the pictures in this book looks like they are from the 80's. One example is the Royal Family, where the Crown Prince looks like he is around 11-12 years old. He is now in his 20's and engaged. But the nature still looks the same, so if you don't care too much about pictures, you can buy this book.



3. For part of our honeymoon, my wife and I decided to tour Norway and the rest of Scandinavia. For Norway, there was no better guide than this little book. It gave us all the info we needed - baring accommodation. But that can be seen to easily by popping into Norway's myriad tourist offices and booking ahead.

   It's great for a number of reasons. One, it's very small and fits in your pocket - unlike most of the competition. Two, there is little so-called 'travel advice'. It focuses mainly on the best places to visit, what you can see when there and then ranks them in orders of fabulousness. The nice thing is that each chapter is a self-contained route that you can follow by car, by train or in Norway's case, by boat. Three, there are colour pictures of each destination along the route - to whet your apetite. Yes, there are one of two that look a bit dated, but most are nature pics and these won't change much in a 1000 years, never mind fifteen.

   I really liked this book and found it extremely useful - along with its Finland counterpart. What better than a guide book that's ultra-light, clearly written and full of colour pictures. Top marks Insight.




4. We bought this book before traveling to Norway. It gave us so much valuable information. We traveled along the fjords, Bergen, and Oslo. We would have missed so much if it were not for this book. It even prepared us to expect the astronomic price of food. I think it made for a great trip because of the information in this book. Do not even think of traveling to Norway without this guide. It is worth every penny.

5 comments about Norway (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. I enjoyed the Eyewitness Travel Guide for Istanbul, although I used the Blue Guide to fill in the many information gaps. However, where the ETG finds success when providing information for a city, it fails when trying to cover an entire country.
   
   This book was almost completely uselss. The Oslo section only covers with any detail the immediate downtown section. The maps for greater Oslo are horrible. The tram and bus information is wrong.
   
   Of couse my largest gripe is my own fault. I knew one skinny book would leave way to much out.
   
   One area the book got right, an area that every single other ETG has gotten wrong, was the food area. Handing the book around to Norwegians on the train brought more than a few, "Yes, that is what I normally eat."



2. I am planning my trip to Norway this May and have found this book to be very useful. I have other reference books I have used but none of those have the format of this book. It is very easy to find information and I find the maps and pictures very helpful. I would recommend this book if you are planning a trip to Norway or just interested in learning more about the country.



3. No one travel book can hope to capture all that might be useful or interesting to know about Norway, but the Eyewitness Travel Guide to Norway may come closest. Compact and portable, the guides are packed with information. Supplemented with some local maps, this guide may be sufficient for most visitors' needs.
   
   The Norway Eyewitness Travel Guide includes maps, photographs, diagrams, and a variety of other graphics, in addition to narrative, to describe Norway as a travel experience. The introduction provides a sense of Norway in terms of its geography, people, and history. Breakdowns follow by region which include the principal attractions. Especially useful are the maps and diagrams of some of the most popular locations, such as the Vigeland Sculpture Park and the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo. Other sections cover how to get to Norway and how to get around within what is a surprisingly large country. The guide includes information on accomodations, a shopping guide, and basic survival facts for the traveler. As always, the inclusion of a wealth of photographs provides a sense of place and scale for Norway, and will help the traveler make some choices in what to see and do.
   
   This guide is highly recommended to the traveler planning a vacation in Norway. Some careful study will help ensure a wonderful vacation in a beautiful country.



4. I really like this book. I have many of the DK Eyewitness books, and they are all very good.
   Norway" as well as other DK's have wonderful maps, beautiful pictures and valuable information.



5. If you are planning a trip to Norway this book is a must have. It clearly outlines the whole country and does an excellent job with Oslo. There is so much to see and even if you are just doing a cruise of the country this is still worth buying. At the time I was only going to Oslo but on my second trip back I toured the rest of the country and this book was useful on both occasions. While it would be nice if DK made an Oslo book this one will be great in the meantime.